Piano-action.



R. B FOWLER.

PIANO AGTION.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.5,1908.

\ULLMIHA PLANOGRAPH covv WASHINGTON. n. c.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

- 1 denotes the case of the piano, 2

RUFUS B. FOWLER, OF WORCESTER, IlTASSACI-IUSETTS.

PIANO-ACTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

Original application filed July 1-1, 1906, Serial No. 326,276. Dividedand this application filed March 5,

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that 1, Bonus 13. FowLnR, acitizen of the United States, residing at orcester, in the county oflVorcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Piano-Actions, of which the following is aspecification, accompanied by drawings, forming a part of the same,representing such portions of an automatic piano as arenecessary toillustrate my present invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional view 5 of the upper portion ofa piano action embodying my improvement, showing a piano key inoperative connection with the piano action, and Fig. 2 represents aportion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, but showing the piano keydisconnected from the piano action. Fig. 3 is a detached and sectionalview of the valve chambers and air passages controlled by the valve stem19.

Similar reference letters and figures refer to similar parts in thediiferent views.

My present invention relates to that class of automatic pianos whichcomprise a pneumatic mechanism for actuating the individual sections ofthe piano action, and my present invention comprises certain novelfeatures of construction of the piano action in such a piano, ashereinafter described and pointed out in the annexed claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings one of the piano strings, 3 apiano action comprising a hammer 4 and wippen 5, pivoted at 6. Theconstruction of this portion of the piano action may, however, be of anyknown form as it forms no part of my present invention.

The free end of the wippen rests upon a lever 7 pivoted at 8 to a bar 9,capable of sliding horizontally in ways 10. The lever 7 is cut away onits under side forming a shoulder 11 and a horizontally extended tongue12. The lever 7 normally rests upon a capstan 13 carried by the innerend of one of the keys 14 of the keyboard, and the tongue 12 rests uponthe upper end of a lifting wire 15 which is provided with a washer 16resting upon the upper surface of a lever 17, attached to a pneumaticmotor bellows I 18 forming a part of the pneumatic action.

The pneumatic action by which the lifting wire 15 is raised forms nopart of my Serial No. 419,264.

present invention and may be of any known and suitable form ofconstruction. In the present instance, it consists of a pneumaticmechanism substantially like that shown and described in Letters Patentof the United States No. 888,152 issued to me May 19 1908, of which thisapplication is a division, and comprises a motor bellows 18 capable ofbeing connected with vacuum chambers of different tensions, or degreesof vacuum, by means of valve controlled passages having valves operatedthrough the reciprocating motion of a valve stem 19, and normally heldin position by means of a spiral spring 20.

Resting upon the upper end of the valve stem 19 is the free end of alever 21 which pivoted at 22 to a swinging frame 23. which is pivotedupon brackets 24: attached to the framework of the piano. Attached tothe under side of the swinging frame 23 are wedge shaped pieces 25 whichare supported upon rolls 26, running upon a horizontal track 27 andpivotally connected by a link 28 with an arm 29 attached to a rockingshaft 30. The lower end of the arm '29 is pivoted to a pull rod 31having at its outer end a hand knob The rocking shaft 30 carries arms 33which are pivotally connected by links with the sliding bar 9, to whichare pivoted a series of levers 7, upon which are supported the wipp'ensof the piano action.

Resting upon the lever 21 is a short spindle 35 capable of slidingvertically in the framework of the piano, and preferably provided withbuttons 36 and 37 at its upper and lower ends. In Fig. 1 the swingingframe 23 is shown in its depressed or lowest position, and, in thisposition, the upper hutton 36 of the spindle 35 is sufliciently belowthe key 1 1 to allow the key to be pressed in playing the piano withouthitting the button, and, in this position, the depression of the key 1%will raise the lever 7 and 'wippen 5 to actuate the hammer 4: in theusual and well known manner.

If the hand knob 32 be pushed in it will rock the shaft 30, moving itsconnected parts from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig.2. The rolls 26 moving beneath the wedge shaped blocks 25 will raise theswinging frame 23 and the pivoted ends of the levers 21 suiiiciently tobring the but ton 36 611 the spindle 35 into contact with the under sideof the key 14. The sliding bar 9 will be moved on its ways 10 to bringthe capstan 13 beneath the tongue 12, so that the rocking motion of thekey 14 will fail to raise the lever 7, thereby disconnecting the keysfrom the piano action. The tongue 12, however, will still rest upon theupper end of the lifting wire 15, enabling the lever 7 to be raised bythe action of the motor bellows 18, and allowing the piano 'to be playedthrough the medium of the pneumatic mechanism. Any depression of thepiano key 14 acting through the short 15 spindle 35 will serve todepress the free end of the lever 21 and push the valve stem 19downward, thereby shifting the valves of the valve controlled passagesand connecting the motor pneumatic 18 with vacuum 20 chambers ofdifferent tensions.

hen the swinging frame 23 and lever 7 are in the position shown in Fig.1, the keys of the piano are operatively connected with the piano actionand disconnected from the 25 pneumatic controllin mechanism, but whenthese parts are shifted into the position shown in Fig. 2, the keys willbe disconnected from the piano action and brought into operativerelation with the pneumatic controlling mechanism, so that, while thepiano is being played by the pneumatic mechanism throtwh the liftingwires 15, the force of the blow imparted by the motor bellows 18 may bevaried with respect to any one of the piano hammers by depressing thecorresponding key of the piano, and thereby depressing the correspondingvalve stem 19.

I have not shown in detail the construc tion of the pneumatic mechanismfor ac tuating the piano action, as the construction and operation ofmechanism of this class will be readily understood. In the mechanismherein shown and described, I produce by any suitable means differentdegrees of tension or air vacuum in the two chambers 38 and 39, shown insectional view in Fig. 3, said chambers having valve controlledcommunication through a pipe 40 with the pneumatic mechanism directlyconcerned in actuating the motor bellows 18. The passage through thepipe 40 communicates with the chamber 41, which is in normalcommunication with a valve chamber 42, communicating with the vacuumchamher 38.

By the depression of the valve stem 19 the chamber 41 is cut off fromthe valve chamber 42 and brought into communication with a valve chamber43, which communicates with the vacuum chamber39. I do not wish,however, to confine myself to the valve mechanism as shown, as my present invention relates particularly to the mechanism for making andbreaking the oper'ative connection between'the piano action and thekeys, and between the keys and. any suitable mechanism for controllingthe tension of the motor bellows 18.

The inner end of the piano key 14 is provided with an adjustable memberadapted to bear against the under surface of the pivoted lever 7. In thepresent instance, this adjustable member consists of a capstan 13, whichis preferably bifurcated at its upper end and provided with a smallroller 44 which lessens the friction due to the sliding movement of thelever 7, and also to the angular movement of the key 14 in actuating thepiano action. The upper surface of the lever 7 is parallel with theplane of movement of the bar 9, so that, as a sliding movement is givento the lever, the free end of the wippen 5 will be maintained in thesame horizontal plane. The member 7 may, of course, be employed solelyfor effecting a connection between the key and the piano actionirrespective of the pneumatic controlling mechanism.

1 claim,

1. The combination with a piano action and a key, of horizontal ways, abar capable of sliding in said ways, a lever pivoted to said bar withits upper surface bearing against the wippen of the piano action, acapstan carried by said key and bearing against an under surface of saidlever, and means for sliding said bar in its ways to move said lever outof contact with said capstan.

2. The combination with a piano action and a key, of a movable pivotedlever having its upper surface in constant operative relation to thepiano action and its under surface capable of being brought into and outof operative relation to said key at will, and means for moving saidlever to change its operative relation to said key.

The combination with a piano action and a key, of a movable pivotedmember in a horizontal position, with the upper surface of said memberin one horizontal plane and arranged in operative connection with saidpiano action and with the under surface of said member in two horizontalplanes, connecting means between said key and the lower portion of saidunder surface, whereby said member is rocked on its pivot by themovement of said key, means for moving said member to bring the higherportion of said lower surface above said connecting means, and means formaintaining said member in said horizontal position.

4. The combination with a piano action and a key, of horizontal ways, abar slidable in said ways, a lever pivoted to said bar with its uppersurface in constant operative relation to the piano action and having anunder surface capable of being brought into and out of operativerelation to said key at Will by the sliding movement of said bar in itsways, and means for sliding said bar.

The combination with a piano actionand akey, of a bar above said key andtransverse thereto, a horizontal lever pivoted to said bar, with theupper surface of said lever operatively connected with said piano actionand with a portion of the lower surface cut. away, a capstan on said keyin contact with said lower surface, and means for sliding said bar tobring the cut away portion of said lower surface above said capstan,thereby disconnecting said lever and said key.

6. The combination with a piano action and a key, of a horizontalpivoted lever with its upper surface in constant operative connectionwith said piano action, said lever in one position ar-anged to be rockedby the movement of said key to actuate said action, means for movingsaid lever in a horizontal plane out of said position to disconnect itfrom said key, and a friction roller carried by said key and in contactwith the under side of said lever.

7. The combination with a piano action and av key for actuating saidpiano act-ion, of an interposed member between the piano action and thekey consisting of a horizontal slidable pivoted lever having its uppersurface adapted to support the piano action, and its lower surfaceadapted to be acted upon by the key.

8. The combination with a piano action and a key, of a capstan rigidlyconnected with said key, and an interposed slidable member between thecapstan and action,

having its upper surface adapted to support the piano action in the samehorizontal plane during the sliding movement of said member and havingits under surface adapted to be acted upon by said capstan.

9. The combination with a piano action and a key for actuating the same,of an interposed slidable member having its upper surface adapted tosupport the piano action in the same horizontal plane during the slidingmovement of said slidable member, and having its under surface arrangedin two sections in difierent planes, with one section capable of beingbrought into operative connection with the key.

10. The combination with a piano action of a slidable bar, a leverpivotally connected with said bar having its upper surface adapted tosupport the piano action, and having its under surface in two sectionsin different planes, a key, an adjustable member carried by said key andarranged to contact with one section of said lever when the lever is atone end of its sliding movement, and to clear the other section when thelever is at the other end of its sliding movement.

11. The combination with a piano action and a key, of a capstan rigidlyconnected with said key, a slidable member interposed between saidcapstan and said action for operatively connecting and disconnectingsaid key and action at will, and means for moving said slidable member,comprising a slidable bar to which said member is pivoted, a rockingshaft with radial arms pivotally connected with said bar, and means forrocking said shaftat will.

RUFUS B. FOlVLER.

Witnesses PENELOPE COMBERBACH, HENRY 700D FOWLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

